THERE can be no doubting the huge financial pressure the vast majority of dairy farmers are under with milk prices in free-fall and well below the cost of production, yet despite the fact many have had to sell up, a percentage remain eager to jump back into milking cows.

It's only five months since John Lyle and sons Gordon and John, made the painful business decision to sell off the bulk of their pedigree herd from Nether Pratis, Leven, having spent the previous six months struggling to get by.

During that period, their milk cheque from First Milk dropped a massive £1000 per day compared to the more lucrative returns paid out from the processor, when prices peaked early 2014.

However, the Lyles are the first to admit, they always had, and still have, every intention of getting back on the milk production band wagon, as soon as a viable contract comes along.

"As a family, we just want to milk cows, and when the industry improves we will go back into dairying, but, it could take 18months to two years before that happens," John Lyle, told The Scottish Farmer.

"We were receiving 33.5-34p per litre on a First Milk contract at the start of 2014, but by the September, prices were falling. We struggled for a whole year and when prices hit 15.5p, in September, 2015, we made a business decision to sell up," added John.

"It's one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, but we all sat round the kitchen table and decided it had to be done.

" If it wasn't for the boys, I'd have thrown in the towel completely, but they want to go back into dairying, so we will as soon as things improve."

The sad thing is, the milk produced on this 430-acre owned unit, was of the highest quality boasting some of the best components in the area coupled with low cell counts.

On average, the herd's 220 pedigree cows milked twice daily, recorded an average yield of 9300litres on a twice daily milking policy at 4.3%BF and 3.3%P with SCCs 120-150.

The cows at Nether Pratis, which is home to the Cambus herd, were also some of the best bred in the area, and the healthiest, being vaccinated for IBR, BVD and Lepto. They also recorded Level 2 for Johnes. And yet the only premium available from First Milk at the time, was a 0.13p per litre manufacturing contract for their then Glenfield dairy site.

Obviously, the family appealed to other, more reputable milk processors, but to no avail - both Muller Wiseman and Grahams were and remain 'inundated with calls' from producers desperate for a better contract.

John added: "I have been at this game long enough, I should have known better what was going on, but we just always thought things would improve.

"We had the chance to supply Muller Wiseman in the early days when they were looking to take on producers, but, I always thought we were better off being part of a co-operative."

The other big loss to the Lyles as First Milk suppliers has been the fact the business paid more than £100,000 in capital contributions, over the years.

The cows are mostly all gone though - sold within a week privately to a breeder in Devon - with 190 heifers and young cows leaving Nether Pratis in one day on six artic lorries to head to south. Virtually all - 96% of them - were 80plus point females, too.

"We never ever wanted to sell, we had to, and we're lucky we did, as we received a third of the value of them more then than what we would do now," added Gordon, pointing out that in-milk cow and heifer prices are falling on a weekly basis as increasing numbers of herds come to the market.

In saying that, the family kept some of their best breeding females to include several from Gordon's own Pacific herd.

Tops on this list is Pacific Laverman Beauty, a great grand-daughter of Toc-Mac Rudolph Beauty along with two Pacific VG daughters bred from Denmire Goldwyn Marqui Ex93, by Pine Tree Sid; Pacific Sid Reba VG86, a daughter of Denmire Goldwyn Reba Ex92 and a milking two-year-old heifer bred from Woodmarsh Gerard Zandra Ex90 and by Aftershock.

All youngstock was retained too, which given the fact sexed semen had been used on all bar the heifers for the past four years, ensured a continual supply of heifers to calve down and sell.

AI'ing all these heifers to sexed semen from the leading sires - many of them with top genomic figures - also has the advantage of providing an almost instant new herd and closed high health status herd at Nether Pratis, for when a new and hopefully much improved milk contract has been obtained.

This leaves the family milking roughly 25-30 calved heifers a month, which currently are either sold privately or through club sales at Borderway Mart, with their progeny, keeping the cycle going. Over the past winter months, more than 100 such heifers have been cashed.

With the aim to calve at 26-28months, calves are fed their mothers milk in buckets twice daily in individual hutches for the first eight weeks. Concentrates are introduced within the first couple of weeks.

After eight weeks, calves are penned in their ages in groups of 5-10 and fed ad-lib concentrates and hay to ensure they are big enough to bull to Semex genomic sires with good feet and legs, mammary systems and overall herd health, at 13-15months. The most recent sires used include Richmond Bombero, Velthuis Athens, Toc-Farm Fitz and Riter Euphoria.

Outwith the dairy enterprise on this lowland unit overlooking the Firth of Forth, the family of John and Isabel, Gordon and Elaine and John and Emma, also run 45 suckler cows to include a small herd of pedigree Simmentals and a commercial ewe flock, which has been increased by 60 ewes to total 300 over the past few months.

Young John and his wife Emma have also introduced a successful pedigree Blue Texel flock over the past seven years which now numbers 40 ewes and only last year produced two champion winners at society sales and a top price of 2400gns.

"They've definitely got a place," said young John. "They're not as big or as powerful as a white Texel but they are bigger than a Beltex. They're also a lot hardier and are easier lambed than a white Texel. We lamb all our cross females to a Blue Texel to include the gimmers and the hoggs."

Such is the quality of the ground here that the family is also able to grow cereals, with 30 acres of winter barley and 10 acres of spring barley normally grown for feed, along with ground rented out for vegetables.

Having sold off all the cows last October, the Lyles also have vast amounts of forage sitting to include fodder beet and two-years worth of pit silage - saving up to £20,000 in contractors costs. In saying that, they do have some 70 head of store cattle in on a bed and breakfast basis, when they have so much available shed space on their doorstep.

John senior added: "We are lucky in that the land here is good enough we can diversify into other sectors, and we have tried contracting and are now doing a bit of tractor work, but nothing pays as well as milking dairy cows at 34-35p per litre. Nothing is making money in farming these days, but it will improve."

And, commenting on the reasons for the dairy crisis, he added: "There are two things that went wrong. One, they should never have done away with milk quotas, and having introduced A and B pricing plans, they should not be paying for milk produced over and above the A limit."

They do have high hopes for the future though and just three months ago, bought one of the top priced lots at the Black and White sale at Carlisle, to flush and keep their enthusiasm going. That was Glasson Atwood Earl, a grand-daughter of the 76,000gns Field of Dreams Formation Erle Ex95, purchased from the Haffey family for 8500gns.

So, just watch this space. The Lyles may not be milking cows, but when they do return to the industry, they have every intention of coming back in style ...